Electrical Engineer Hourly Pay (2026): How Much Do EEs Make Per Hour?

The median electrical engineer hourly pay is $60.11 per hour in 2026, equivalent to $125,033 annually (BLS captures base; FAANG / semiconductor RSU often equals or exceeds base). Effective hourly rates reach $120–$240+ at senior FAANG / Apple Silicon / Nvidia levels in Sunnyvale, CA, with TS/SCI cleared aerospace EEs commanding $30–$80/hour premium.

$60.11

Median Hourly Rate

$125,033

Annual Equivalent

$39.19

Entry-Level Hourly

1676+

Cities Tracked

2019 BLS

$47.37/hr

2025 BLS

$58.00/hr

2026 Current Est.

$60.11/hr

2019–2027 Growth

+31.5%

National Electrical Engineer Hourly Rate Trend

2019–2025: BLS OEWS actual data. 2026+: CAGR 3.65% projection.

BLS Actual Estimated Projected

Year	Median Hourly Rate	Status
2019	$47.37/hr	Actual
2020	$48.48/hr	Actual
2021	$48.28/hr	Actual
2022	$49.67/hr	Actual
2023	$51.42/hr	Actual
2024	$53.80/hr	Actual
2025	$58.00/hr	Actual
2026(current)	$60.11/hr	Estimated
2027	$62.31/hr	Projected

The national median hourly rate for electrical engineers has grown steadily over the past 7 years of BLS data, reflecting strong demand for electrical engineering services. At the current 3.65% CAGR, hourly rates are projected to continue rising through 2027.

Note: BLS actual data is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Estimated and projected values are calculated using a 3.65% historical CAGR. Actual compensation may vary based on employer, experience, certifications, and local market conditions.

Electrical Engineer Salary Per Hour by State

Hourly rates for electrical engineers vary widely by state. Western and Northeastern states consistently top the rankings, while Southeastern states tend to fall below the national median of $60.11/hour.

#	State	Avg Hourly	Annual Equiv	vs National	Cities
1	New Hampshire	$78.16	$162,565	+30.02%	16
2	New Mexico	$76.66	$159,448	+27.52%	17
3	California	$72.76	$151,331	+21.03%	157
4	Washington	$67.11	$139,580	+11.63%	49
5	New Jersey	$65.36	$135,948	+8.73%	61
6	Texas	$63.43	$131,941	+5.52%	109
7	Louisiana	$63.27	$131,595	+5.25%	20
8	Massachusetts	$63.11	$131,268	+4.99%	59
9	Oregon	$63.08	$131,204	+4.94%	36
10	District of Columbia	$63.00	$131,037	+4.80%	1
11	Idaho	$62.87	$130,777	+4.59%	16
12	Alaska	$61.88	$128,711	+2.94%	5
13	Delaware	$60.70	$126,260	+0.98%	6
14	Alabama	$60.29	$125,406	+0.30%	24
15	New York	$60.12	$125,042	+0.01%	39
16	Colorado	$60.01	$124,831	-0.16%	32
17	Maryland	$59.30	$123,338	-1.36%	28
18	Pennsylvania	$58.04	$120,724	-3.45%	24
19	North Carolina	$57.62	$119,847	-4.15%	45
20	Minnesota	$57.50	$119,609	-4.34%	44
21	Rhode Island	$57.35	$119,284	-4.60%	17
22	Missouri	$57.21	$118,996	-4.83%	33
23	West Virginia	$56.77	$118,073	-5.57%	11
24	Maine	$56.69	$117,921	-5.69%	10
25	Vermont	$56.06	$116,605	-6.74%	9
26	Connecticut	$55.97	$116,412	-6.89%	29
27	Hawaii	$55.79	$116,050	-7.18%	10
28	Oklahoma	$55.62	$115,685	-7.48%	27
29	Illinois	$55.33	$115,089	-7.95%	64
30	Florida	$54.93	$114,245	-8.63%	83
31	North Dakota	$54.92	$114,229	-8.64%	8
32	Michigan	$54.53	$113,431	-9.28%	54
33	Virginia	$54.15	$112,634	-9.92%	42
34	Nevada	$54.00	$112,321	-10.17%	9
35	Kansas	$53.89	$112,090	-10.35%	22
36	Utah	$53.76	$111,825	-10.56%	41
37	Tennessee	$53.21	$110,674	-11.48%	30
38	Wyoming	$53.14	$110,523	-11.61%	14
39	Georgia	$52.89	$110,009	-12.02%	39
40	Mississippi	$52.58	$109,366	-12.53%	20
41	Iowa	$52.40	$108,992	-12.83%	26
42	Arizona	$52.08	$108,334	-13.36%	33
43	South Carolina	$51.34	$106,778	-14.60%	26
44	Nebraska	$51.15	$106,384	-14.92%	13
45	Indiana	$50.55	$105,153	-15.90%	43
46	South Dakota	$50.45	$104,926	-16.08%	11
47	Ohio	$50.44	$104,923	-16.08%	67
48	Montana	$50.35	$104,725	-16.24%	7
49	Arkansas	$50.09	$104,181	-16.68%	21
50	Wisconsin	$49.78	$103,549	-17.18%	46
51	Kentucky	$49.27	$102,478	-18.04%	21
52	Puerto Rico	$38.61	$80,308	-35.77%	2

How Much Do Electrical Engineers Make Per Hour? Top 20 Cities

These 20 metro areas offer the highest hourly rates for electrical engineers in the United States. Rates reflect the median hourly wage reported by BLS, or estimated from annual salary data.

#	City	Hourly Rate	Per 8hr Shift	Annual Equiv
1	Sunnyvale, CA	$95.40	$763.20	$198,431
2	Santa Clara, CA	$94.78	$758.22	$197,137
3	San Jose, CA	$93.21	$745.70	$193,882
4	Oakland, CA	$84.62	$676.96	$176,009
5	Slidell, LA	$83.22	$665.76	$173,099
6	Fremont, CA	$82.75	$662.03	$172,129
7	San Francisco, CA	$82.73	$661.87	$172,086
8	Santa Rosa, CA	$82.16	$657.31	$170,900
9	Albuquerque, NM	$81.58	$652.66	$169,692
10	Petaluma, CA	$81.38	$651.00	$169,261
11	Nashua, NH	$79.98	$639.81	$166,351
12	Vallejo, CA	$79.76	$638.07	$165,898
13	Manchester, NH	$79.42	$635.33	$165,187
14	Honolulu, HI	$76.31	$610.46	$158,719
15	San Marcos, TX	$74.12	$592.96	$154,170
16	Round Rock, TX	$72.94	$583.51	$151,712
17	Austin, TX	$72.44	$579.53	$150,677
18	Kaneohe, HI	$71.26	$570.07	$148,219
19	Mililani Town, HI	$71.13	$569.08	$147,961
20	Kailua, HI	$71.09	$568.75	$147,875

Electrical Engineer Hourly Rate: FAANG, Semiconductor, Aerospace, and Utility EE Pay

Electrical engineer compensation varies dramatically by employer (FAANG hardware vs semiconductor vs aerospace defense vs utility / power systems vs industrial / automation) and clearance status. FAANG / semiconductor RSU compensation often equals or exceeds base.

Staff EE hourly equivalent — at $60.11/hour median (annualized from $125,033 at 2,080 hours).

FAANG hardware EE (top tier) — Apple Silicon, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Marvell, Tesla autopilot, Google TPU, Microsoft custom silicon. Senior staff / principal EEs $250,000–$500,000+ total comp with RSU.

Semiconductor (Intel, TSMC, Micron, GlobalFoundries, Samsung Austin, Texas Instruments) — process / device / equipment / circuit design engineers at fab and design centers. Strong total comp at senior levels.

Aerospace defense cleared EE (TS/SCI premium) — Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, BAE, L3Harris, Boeing Defense, Anduril, Aerospace Corp. TS/SCI clearance adds $30,000–$80,000 premium over non-cleared peers.

Utility power systems PE — utility transmission, distribution, substation, generation engineering. CAISO, ERCOT, PJM, MISO, SPP, NYISO, ISO-NE. Strong demand for renewable integration and grid modernization under IRA.

Industrial controls / automation EE — Tier 1 manufacturer plant engineering. Toyota, Ford, GM, Stellantis, Tesla, Boeing, Amazon fulfillment.

1099 EE consulting — established 1099 power systems PEs and semiconductor design consultants bill $120–$220+/hour.

Federal EE (DoD, DOE national labs, NASA, NRC) — federal employment with pension and PSLF. National labs (Sandia, Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, ORNL, Argonne) at strong specialty premium.

CHIPS Act megaproject EE — Arizona, Texas, Ohio, New York, Oregon, Idaho semiconductor fab construction. Strong sign-on bonuses and per-diem packages.

Schedule	Weekly	Monthly	Annual (50 wks)
3 days/week (24 hrs)	$1,443	$6,247	$72,134
4 days/week (32 hrs)	$1,924	$8,329	$96,179
Full-time (40 hrs)	$2,404	$10,411	$120,224

* Based on the national median hourly rate of $60.11. Actual earnings vary by location.

Electrical Engineer Pay Per Hour vs Similar Healthcare Roles

How does electrical engineer hourly pay compare to similar allied health professions? Here's a side-by-side comparison using BLS 2025 national median data:

Occupation	Hourly	Annual	BLS Code
Electrical Engineer ★	$60.11	$125,033	17-2071
Mechanical Engineer	$48.61	$101,130	17-2141
Computer Hardware Engineer	$69.00	$143,520	17-2061
Electronics Engineer	$58.25	$121,170	17-2072
Electrical Engineering Technician	$35.08	$72,970	17-3023

★ = Electrical Engineer (2026 projected). Other roles: BLS OEWS 2025 national median wages.

Factors That Drive Electrical Engineer Hourly Pay Differences

Electrical engineer hourly pay varies dramatically by employer (FAANG vs semiconductor vs aerospace defense vs utility vs industrial) and clearance status (TS/SCI premium at aerospace defense). The national median sits at $60.11/hour, but EE effective hourly rates reach $95.40 in top markets like Sunnyvale, CA and exceed $150/hour at senior FAANG / Apple Silicon / Nvidia levels with RSU.

This guide breaks down the five biggest drivers of EE hourly pay differences. Whether you're an ABET-accredited EE graduate evaluating first role, a working EE considering FAANG transition or clearance investment, or a director of engineering benchmarking competitive wages, the framework below is the central reference.

1. Employer: FAANG / Semiconductor / Aerospace / Utility / Industrial

FAANG hardware (top tier) — Apple Silicon, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Tesla autopilot, Google TPU, Microsoft custom silicon.
Semiconductor — Intel, TSMC, Micron, GlobalFoundries, Samsung Austin, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Marvell.
Aerospace defense cleared — Lockheed, Northrop, Raytheon, BAE, L3Harris, Boeing Defense, Anduril. TS/SCI premium.
1099 EE consulting — $120–$220+/hour direct.
Utility power systems PE — CAISO, ERCOT, PJM, MISO, NYISO, ISO-NE.
Industrial controls / automation — auto OEM plant, Amazon fulfillment.
Federal EE / National labs — Sandia, Los Alamos, LLNL, ORNL, Argonne. Pension + PSLF.
EV / battery — Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, GM Ultium, Ford BlueOval.

2. State Semiconductor / FAANG Hardware Concentration

California (Silicon Valley) — top US EE pay. Apple, Google, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Marvell, Broadcom, Tesla, Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA.
Texas — Texas Instruments, Apple Austin, Tesla, AMD, Samsung Austin, NXP, Silicon Labs, Cirrus Logic. No state tax.
Washington — Amazon Devices, Microsoft Azure hardware, Boeing. No state tax.
Oregon — Intel Hillsboro, Lattice, Mentor / Siemens EDA.
Arizona — TSMC Phoenix fab, Intel Chandler, ON Semiconductor, Microchip Technology.
New York — Micron Mohawk Valley fab, GlobalFoundries Saratoga, IBM Research Yorktown, Wolfspeed.
Ohio — Intel New Albany fab construction.
Massachusetts — Analog Devices, MathWorks, Raytheon. Strong defense electronics.
Idaho — Micron (Boise HQ).
Other strong markets — Colorado (Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Space, Ball Aerospace), Florida (Lockheed M&FC Orlando, Harris / L3Harris Melbourne), New Mexico (Sandia, Los Alamos), Alabama (Huntsville aerospace).

3. State and Cost of Living

California, Washington, Massachusetts, Hawaii, NY, NJ, CT — lead nominal EE hourly rankings.
State income tax (senior level) — EEs in TX, FL, TN, NV, WA, WY, SD, AK, NH keep more. At senior staff/principal levels, savings $20K–$60K+/year.
Washington combines AWS / Microsoft / Amazon Devices with no state tax — top real take-home for senior EE.

4. CHIPS / EV / Aerospace Megaproject Demand

CHIPS Act fabs (premium with sign-on) — AZ, TX, OH, NY, OR, ID, IN. EE-intensive process / device / equipment / circuit design.
EV / battery megaprojects — GA (Hyundai), TN (Ford BlueOval), KY (Ford BlueOval SK), IN (Stellantis), OH (Honda/LG, GM Ultium), MI (GM Lansing), TX (Tesla Austin Gigafactory).
Aerospace defense modernization — F-35, B-21, NGAD, Columbia-class submarines, Constellation-class frigates, hypersonics, missile defense. EE demand at all major primes.
Renewable energy / transmission (IRA) — wind, solar, battery storage, transmission siting.
Hyperscaler data center power systems — utility-scale power distribution at AWS / Azure / Google sites.

5. PE / Specialty Credentials and Clearance

PE Electrical — required for utility power systems and consulting drawings.
SE structural integration — for cross-discipline projects.
TS/SCI clearance — aerospace defense EE premium $30K–$80K.
Secret / TS clearance — defense contractor entry premium.
Manufacturer-specific certifications — Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell, Schneider automation certifications.
GenAI infrastructure architecture — emerging premium for AWS Bedrock / Azure OpenAI / Vertex AI hardware deployment.

2026 Electrical Engineer Hourly Pay Outlook

EE pay has grown at a compound annual rate of 3.65% nationally over the past five years — driven by CHIPS Act semiconductor fab construction, rapid FAANG hardware engineering hiring for AI / GenAI deployment infrastructure, IRA-driven utility transmission and renewable energy expansion, ongoing aerospace defense modernization, and EV / charging infrastructure deployment. The BLS projects EE employment growth at 9% through 2033, with strong upward pay pressure especially at FAANG hardware, semiconductor specialty, and cleared aerospace defense roles.

More Salary Resources

National OverviewComplete salary data for 1676+ cities Entry-Level SalariesStarting pay for new graduates Salary by StateAll 52 states compared Highest Paying StatesTop states ranked by salary

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do electrical engineers make per hour?

The national median electrical engineer hourly pay is $60.11 per hour in 2026. Hourly rates range from approximately $36.33 in lower-paying areas to $95.40 in Sunnyvale, CA.

What is the highest hourly rate for electrical engineers?

The highest electrical engineer hourly rate is $95.40 in Sunnyvale, CA. The top 5 highest-paying metros all offer rates above $55/hour.

Do electrical engineers make more per hour than registered nurses?

Yes, on average. Electrical Engineers earn a median of $60.11/hour nationally, compared to approximately $42.80/hour for registered nurses (BLS 2025). However, RNs may earn more with overtime, shift differentials, and specialty certifications.

Can electrical engineers make $50 an hour?

Yes. Many metro areas — particularly in California, Washington, and Alaska — offer median hourly rates above $50. In Sunnyvale, the median rate is $95.40/hour.

How much does a part-time electrical engineer make per year?

A electrical engineer working 3 days per week (24 hours) at the national median of $60.11/hour earns approximately $72,134 per year. At 4 days per week (32 hours), annual earnings reach approximately $96,179.

Written by Amina Patel, MEng, PE

Career Analyst

Amina has over 10 years of experience in power systems engineering. She works at a utility company specializing in renewable energy integration.

Clinically reviewed by Carlos Martinez, BSEEData verified by Nia Thompson, MEng

Data Sources & Methodology

Source: BLS, OEWS 2025, released May 2026.

Compiled and verified by Amina Patel, MEng, PE, a licensed electrical engineer with 10+ years of clinical experience. · View source data at BLS.gov

Methodology & Data Source

Salary figures on this page are 2026 projections based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2026 release. We applied a 3.65% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), derived from 6-year national BLS trends, to estimate current 2026 compensation.